PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A self-employed licensed real estate broker has been arrested for creating fraudulent deeds in an attempt to make a financial gain, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Michael Bogstead, 37, faces a charge of scheme to defraud in what the sheriff's office is calling a complex investigation that dates back to January 2019.
The Economics Crime Unit received information about fraudulent activity and launched the case four years ago. Throughout the investigation, detectives discovered that Bogstead "targeted at least six properties going to tax auctions, that appeared to be abandoned, or were owned by homeowners that could not afford to pay taxes on the property."
Detectives believe the minimum amount of cash Bogstead received from the properties was about $327,000. The market value of the properties in 2019 was near $1,071,000, the sheriff's office said.
Pinellas County detectives say Bogstead would create fake deeds, fictitious release of mortgages and satisfaction of mortgages by forging signatures and utilizing fictitious notary stamps. He's then accused of electronically filing the fraudulent deeds through an online real estate transaction website and transferring ownership to various entities to gain control of the property on paper, according to the sheriff's office.
Detectives say Bogstead would then sell the property to an unsuspecting third party or take a mortgage out on the property.
Bogstead was located at his Plant City home on Jan. 24, 2023, and was taken into custody. He's being held in the Hillsborough County Jail until he can be transported to the Pinellas County Jail in the coming days.
